Manchester United’s €60 million flop defensive midfielder faces an inevitable exit this summer! Conceding goals whenever he plays, no manager among five has been able to revive him.

In the second half of the Manchester United versus Fulham match, Casemiro, who was the best player on the pitch, was taken off in the 75th minute to a standing ovation. Ugarte came on as a substitute while United held a 2-0 lead. Yet, the situation changed drastically as Fulham netted two goals in the 90th minute. Thankfully, Sheshko’s late goal in injury time secured a tense win for the Red Devils.

Although Ugarte ended his unlucky streak of losing every game he started with against Newcastle United, Manchester United has conceded as many as 24 goals this season whenever he’s been on the pitch. He has played only 874 minutes, which means the team lets in a goal every 36.5 minutes on average when he features. While this isn’t entirely Ugarte’s fault, it clearly highlights a problem: the team’s overall instability when he plays. People jokingly call a tough defensive midfielder a “steel waist,” but Ugarte is definitely more like a “rusty piece of scrap.”

Before the January transfer window opened, reports indicated that Manchester United was willing to part ways with Ugarte. Last month, the Uruguayan international received offers from Ajax and Galatasaray, but United ultimately decided against the deal due to insufficient squad depth, forcing Carrick to rely on Ugarte at times.

However, Ugarte’s issues are no coincidence. Whether it was Ten Hag, who signed him for €60 million, or Ruben Amorim, his coach at Sporting Lisbon, or the interim managers Van Nistelrooy and Fletcher, and now Carrick, none have been able to get Ugarte to perform as expected.

At a heated team meeting near the end of last season, Amorim told Ugarte that he was “no longer the player he used to be.” Early this season, Ugarte himself admitted that his form was not ideal. “My condition isn’t good, we have to be realistic and face the facts honestly,” he said.

Manchester United legend Nicky Butt was even more blunt on the “Good, Bad & Football” podcast: “Ugarte is definitely not a Manchester United midfielder, and he will never be one. This is just another example of their repeated mistakes in recruiting players. They have consistently made errors when signing players, that’s the truth.”

Rio Ferdinand also expressed hope that Carrick could improve Ugarte’s performances, as the latter’s displays have been disappointing. “Honestly, I’m disappointed in Ugarte. When he arrived, I heard he was fast, good at tackling, and intelligent in positioning. The feedback was that he was exactly the kind of player United needed. But those qualities haven’t shown up. I haven’t seen him live up to the expectations of quick, close marking.”

Ferdinand added, “Being proactive should be a key part of Ugarte’s playing style, but he hasn’t demonstrated anything that makes me think he could become the core of our midfield or truly control the tempo of the game. He’s still a long way from that goal.”

According to sources from “Jingji Sports,” Ugarte is very likely to be offloaded by Manchester United in this summer’s transfer window, especially after the resurgence of Cody Meno. Unlike Ugarte, Meno has excelled both offensively and defensively since Carrick took charge. United is expected to sign two new defensive midfielders, and selling Ugarte would help free up some transfer funds.

Ferdinand predicted that if Ugarte doesn’t improve quickly, his time at Manchester United will be running out. “Can Carrick unlock more potential from him? That will be a huge challenge for Carrick: to get more out of these players and improve the team. He has to do better in both areas — enhancing the overall team performance and getting every player to perform at a high level — to achieve greater progress.”